Shit... who am I kidding?
That’s what did it for me. I think I might have been able to chalk her up as stunning, but forget about her until she’d opened her mouth and given it to me.
So damn sexy.
The way it had affected me when she’d moved into my space was unreal, she’d smelled like French vanilla ice cream. I hadn’t been able to do anything other than stand there and watch her take me down a peg or two.
It was refreshing.
I didn’t think I’d ever see her again, I’d been considering trying to track her down and see if I’d imagined the whole thing.
But no need... here she was. What were the chances?
It was at that moment that I’d snapped out of my thoughts and noticed her eyes weren’t focused on me anymore. She was throwing daggers at my sister.
Shit. How does she know, Q? Oh god this is not good. Please don’t be her new PA.
She stormed across the restaurant towards our table.
Oh hell. This girl has some serious balls.
She grabbed Quinn by the arm and starting yelling at her.
What the hell is she talking about? Has she talked to Quinn about me? Does she think we’re here together?
I wanted to shake this girl and make sure she knew that I was Quinn’s brother, not her date.
Why do I even care who she thinks I’m here with?
I looked between her blue eyes laced with anger, and my sister’s green eyes that were looking confused as hell.
I saw the moment that realization hit the crazy blondie. She looked back and forth between Quinn and I, and a look of pure horror crossed her face.
I swear time stood still.
“Ah, El, meet my brother, Lawson.”
El?
SHE is Ellerslie.
Oh hell no.
9. Quinn
I didn’t know what the hell had got into El. She’d stormed over here and started accusing me of God knows what, like some type of lunatic.
“Why would you do this? You promised not to mention him again.”
I had no idea what the hell she was talking about.
Who the hell is ‘him’?
I snapped my eyes up to stare directly into hers. “Ah, El,” I pulled my arm from her grasp. “Meet my brother, Lawson.” She had this look of absolute horror on her face. A deep blush began spreading over her cheeks and she looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
I turned to Lawson and was about to apologize for the crazy woman in front of me, but I stopped when I saw his face. He looked shocked.
That was probably fair.
El had temporarily checked out and some demon lady was taking her place. I opened my mouth to find an explanation, but before I found one, his shocked expression slowly morphed into a sly smirk. He was looking at El as if he were a predator – and she was something he was about to hunt.
I quickly glanced back at El, she had her big eyes completely focused on my brother. There was something unspoken passing between them, and I suddenly felt like I was intruding on something private.
“You promised not to mention him again.”
Hell... she was talking about the guy from the lift.
The light bulb flicked on in my brain.
Oh, Jesus Christ. Please tell me it is NOT my big brother that has my best friend all riled up.
I thought about how El described him.
Tall, dark, cocky, and hotter than hell.
I snapped back around to Lawson. “Holy crap, you’re Mr. Hot and arrogant!” I cried. It really was lucky that Lawson owned this place. We were beginning to make a scene with all this yelling.
“I’m fucking what?” He pulled his focus from El to glare at me.
“From the elevator! You’re the cocky bastard that got Ellerslie here all hot and bothered,” I spat out before I started laughing.
El had gone even redder, and now she looked like she wanted to slap me in my face. I stopped laughing.
Oops, I guess I shouldn’t have let that slip. Bad friend moment.
Lawson laughed a smug laugh and focused his eyes on El. “Good to know I made an impression.”
That seemed to be enough to snap El out of the current state she was in. She stood up straight, and I noticed what she was wearing. She looked hot. She hardly ever showed as much skin as she was tonight, and she looked amazing. All of her curves were on display in her tight dress – her tiny waist and long legs were exposed too.
El was absolutely gorgeous. I was always telling her that her body rivaled Kate Upton’s; she had killer curves in all the right places, a tiny waist, and long legs. She had no idea how gorgeous she really was, she turned heads everywhere she went. I think her lack of awareness was the real beauty of it.
I didn’t know why Lawson was acting so smug and cocky all of a sudden, but I couldn’t help but think that maybe El had pissed him off during their little argument in the elevator. Lawson wasn’t used to women standing up to him and not immediately falling for his charms. He liked women to be in his life, but completely on his terms. There had been one woman who he had seemed to take very seriously, but that had been years ago.
It’s gonna be pretty awkward if they hate each other.
El gestured for Reeve to slide in ahead of her, straight across from Lawson and she slid in opposite me. I noticed Lawson tense slightly as Reeve helped El take her leather jacket off. I hadn’t remembered to tell Lawson that El’s brother was joining us, and if I didn’t know better, I would guess that he was a little jealous.
He thinks it’s her date.
A thought hit me suddenly.
Holy shit! He’s into her. That’s why he’s acting like a child!
The silence at the table was growing increasingly awkward. We all seemed to be just staring at one another, trying to figure out what the hell was happening here. Reeve and Lawson seemed to be having some type of tense pissing contest.
I don’t think that Reeve had any idea what was going on between these two, but it wasn’t hard to see that they both were not happy about something. Poor Reeve was probably wondering what the hell Lawson had done to turn his sister into a shell-shocked nut job.
I kicked El lightly under the table and gestured towards the bar with my head. She bobbed her head quickly and gave me a guilty smile.
That’s right, you better feel bad about yelling at me.
“Excuse us, boys. We’re going to get a drink from the bar.” I rose at the same time El did. “Can we bring you anything back?”
“Beer,” they both grumbled at the same time.
Holy shit, this was gonna be a long-ass night.
I decided to see if my theory was right and if I could put my brother out of his misery.
“Oh sorry, we never introduced you two. Lawson, Reeve. Reeve, Lawson.” I gestured between them with my hand. “El’s brother,” I said directly to Lawson. A quick grin spread across his face with my last comment and he reached across the table to shake Reeve’s hand.
Huh, look at that, pissing contest over.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
10. Ellerslie
Oh god.
I just wanted to crawl under the table and stay there until the restaurant closed. I don’t think I could be any more humiliated if I tried. Not only did I just make a complete fool of myself in front of a whole dining room full of strangers, but I pretty much attacked my best friend too.
I can’t believe HE is Lawson. I must have the shittiest luck in the entire universe when it comes to men.
“So that went downhill fast,” Quinn whispered. I could tell she was holding back.
She is gonna chew me out.
As soon as we were far enough out of ear shot Quinn began laughing at me.
Um...Not what I was expecting.
“Oh god, El. This is just too funny. I can’t believe that you were drooling all over my brother.” She laughed even louder.
“This is so not funny, Q,” I g
round out. “And I was not drooling.” I looked over at my so-called best friend. She was nearly doubled over laughing and I just couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing too.
I guess it actually was pretty damn funny.
“God, I’m so sorry for yelling at you, Quinn, but what the hell am I gonna do? Your brother thinks I’m an absolute bitch. I don’t think he can even stand to be around me.”
Quinn caught her breath and wiped under her eyes. “I think you riled him up as much as he did you.” She linked arms with me as we approached the bar. “I don’t think he knows what to make of you. He’s used to women that jump for him, and you certainly don’t fit that brief. I actually think he likes you, El.” She giggled again.
I thought about what Quinn said. This was going to be awkward. He was the hottest man I had ever met. And he was my best friend’s brother. On top of that, he was a complete cocky asshole.
Yip. Real awkward.
***
We ordered our drinks, threw back a couple of shots each and headed back to the table. I wasn’t sure how to play this – I could feel Lawson watching me constantly, I just wasn’t sure why. I decided that it didn’t matter. I would just be myself and try to forget that our little moment in the elevator ever happened. I was hoping that Lawson would do the same.
By the time we’d returned from the bar, the tension between Reeve and Lawson was gone. They were having a conversation about the upcoming football season, and they both seemed to be pretty excited about it. I liked football just fine, but I was very clearly out of my depth in this conversation. I glanced at Quinn, who rolled her eyes at me. She didn’t know a thing about the sport and I knew she had no desire to either.
I studied Lawson as he talked. His strong jaw moved up and down as he made small talk with Reeve, I watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. I noticed little smile lines appear as he grinned at something my brother said.
Wow, he is HOT.
He moved his arms in a gesture about something he was explaining – it was the first time tonight that I had really looked away from his face.
And holy shit.
His white shirtsleeves were rolled up again, revealing part of the tattoo that I had caught a glimpse of the other day. Through his shirt I could just make out the area that it covered up his bicep and over part of his chest. I felt my head involuntarily tilt to the side as I stared at him.
Holy shit... I am a sucker for a man with ink.
It was as if the asshole had been completely designed from my fantasies. I was raking my eyes over his giant muscular-looking chest when I got a swift kick in the shin under the table.
Ow! What the hell?
I pulled my eyes from Lawson, who was still deep in conversation with Reeve, and glared at Quinn. She made a gesture as though she was wiping drool from her chin and burst out laughing at me.
Dammit, she caught me looking.
I shrugged at her and joined in the laughter, I could already feel the shots that we’d had making me a little giddy. Our laughter must have reminded the boys that we were sitting at the table.
Lawson turned his body towards Q. “How’s the new offices working out for you both?” He asked us, although he was looking at his sister. He leaned back and rested his arms on the back of the bench. “Did Evan get the contracts all signed up and everything sorted for you?”
There’s no bloody way he likes me – he won’t even talk to me.
“We love it. Thanks so much for hooking us up, Law, we owe you.” Quinn glanced at me and raised her eyebrows a couple of times.
Oh hell.
“And Evan sorted out quite a few things for you. Right, El?”
Bitch.
I glared at her.
I knew what she was doing. She wanted to see if Lawson was going to take the bait. As it turned out she didn’t have to wait long.
“What does that mean?” he asked. He quickly looked me over, from my head, down to my chest and back up again. I heard Quinn chuckle softly.
“Nothing,” I shot back before Quinn could throw me under the bus again. I raised a finger at her in warning. “She’s just being funny. But really, thank you for lining it up for us. It’s exactly what we need. Everything is on me tonight, I really owe you.”
I had a bad feeling that Quinn was going to make this situation a lot worse for me than it already was.
11. Lawson
Shit... this girl was driving me crazy. I’d seen her staring at my tattoos – she’d cocked her head to the side and bit down a little on her full bottom lip. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. I had been trying to focus my attention on the conversation I was having with her brother – who as it turned out was actually a cool guy, when I’d heard her laughing with Quinn.
Damnit it to hell, was there anything about this girl that didn’t turn me on?
Her laughter had moved through my body and left me tingling all over. I’d found myself having to adjust my pants a little to ease the pressure that she had created. I’d never heard her laugh before, but somehow it seemed familiar to me.
Then that shit that Quinn had pulled had me feeling all possessive and jealous.
Jesus. Since when do I get fucking jealous?
I knew she was trying to wind me up. Q could see there was something going on between me and Ellerslie, hell, I think the whole restaurant could see the connection that hummed between us.
But Evan? Well that bastard was getting fired.
Ellerslie had made it clear that she didn’t want to talk about him, but for some reason, I just couldn’t let it go.
Hell. I want her.
I caught her eyes and searched them for a sign that she wanted me too.
“Are you and Evan dating?” I asked her straight out.
Fuck. Real smooth, Pierce.
I shouldn’t even damn well care.
“No.” She shook her head quickly. Her response was instant – almost as though she hadn’t even consciously thought before she said the word.
Relief flooded through me. Her eyes were still fixed directly on mine, and I saw desire burning there. I glanced down at her lips and watched her tongue dart out to moisten them.
Shit I want to taste those lips...
God... I need to get it together.
Our connection was broken by Reeve and Quinn laughing. Ellerslie was now looking back and forth between the two of them and blushing furiously. I reluctantly pulled my eyes off her and clapped my hands together loudly.
“Let’s order, shall we?”
I am so fucked.
12. Ellerslie
Dinner was delicious. We’d eaten absolutely everything that had come out of the kitchen, and drank far too much at the same time. I was well and truly tipsy and a little embarrassed that the waitress seemed to have our drinks order memorized.
Everyone had relaxed a little and seemed more comfortable. Reeve and Lawson were getting on as if they had known each other for years. I was glad to see they were comfortable together, I doubted this would be the last evening that the four of us would be spending together.
I sat back against the booth and laid my hand across my stomach. “Wow. That was amazing. I’ll be coming back here for sure. I want to tell the chef how delicious everything was before we leave.”
Quinn sat up a little straighter. “I can do one better than that, El, you can tell the—”
“I know the chef, and I’ll pass on your praise,” Lawson interrupted her. He shot Quinn a look that I didn’t understand.
She narrowed her eyes at him in response.
“O-Okay,” I stuttered, unsure of what I had missed. “Thanks.”
I had been trying to avoid making eye contact with Lawson since he had asked me about dating Evan. He hadn’t seemed to like the idea of me being with Evan, and it was messing with my head.
He is NOT interested. He probably just thinks that Evan is a dickhead.
He’d looked at me like he was trying to search deep into my soul. I hadn’t
been able to hide how much I’d wanted him, and I was pretty sure that he had seen exactly how much he was affecting me.
Idiot. I must look like some lust-filled little slag.
I’m still married to another man for God’s sake.
“Time to hit the clubs,” Quinn exclaimed all of a sudden, full of excitement.
Quinn loved clubbing – any excuse for her to get her dance on. She was an amazing dancer. She had practiced ballet for nearly half her life and she moved like a pro. Quinn had even convinced me to join a dance class with her once, it turned out that I actually loved to dance too, and the class had been amazing fun, changing styles every few months. We’d learned everything from jazz, to ballet, to hip-hop, and also made some close friends in our three years there.
“Oh hell. We’ll be out all night if you have your way,” Lawson teased her.
We all laughed at Quinn giving Lawson the finger. It was so good to finally see them together – their relationship was relaxed and fun.
The waitress came over and Lawson put his hand out for the bill.
I reached out and snagged it before he had a chance. “It’s on me. It’s the least I can do with you helping us out,” I said by way of explanation.
A surprised look crossed his face before it was quickly replaced with one of displeasure. “No way. I didn’t think you were serious. You are not paying. I can do a favor for my baby sister and her best friend, can’t I?”
I just rolled my eyes at him and gave the waitress back the bill, with my credit card sitting on top. I looked back to Lawson and raised one eyebrow at him.
Sorry, control freak. My shout.
Lawson gestured for the waitress to come closer and he leaned in and spoke quietly in her ear.
“Yes, of course, Mr. Pierce.” She nodded as she left.
Lawson smiled smugly at me, and I had to resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
God, he was infuriating.
She returned with my credit card, and I put it back in my bag and stuffed the receipt in there too. Mr. Lawson Pierce was not getting the better of me tonight.
Love like Yours Series Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 6